White House Projects $600B in Drug Savings For America

President Donald Trump has announced another round of agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers aimed at bringing U.S. prescription drug prices closer to those paid in other developed nations.

The nine new agreements bring the total number of manufacturers participating in the administration’s Most-Favored-Nation pricing initiative to 26, representing 89% of the branded drug market, according to the White House. The latest participants include CSL, Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and UCB.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates the agreements could generate $600 billion in savings over the next decade. The policy seeks to align U.S. prices with lower prices available in other developed countries.

“For too long, Americans have paid the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” Trump said when issuing his Most-Favored-Nation executive order. He said the policy was intended to end a system in which Americans “subsidize low prices in the rest of the world.”

The administration has also expanded TrumpRx.gov, launched in February to give patients access to negotiated discounts on certain prescription drugs. The site was expanded in May to include more than 600 generic medications and allow consumers to compare cash prices from pharmacy programs.

The White House reported in August that prescription drug prices had fallen 3.9% since Trump took office and said the annual decline was the largest since 1963.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said affordability has prevented many Americans from getting needed prescriptions, noting that one in three patients had previously walked away from the pharmacy without their medication because they could not afford it. “That era is ending,” the White House said.